Editorial: Speak up for more Hwy. 23 funding

This is a time for all in west central and southwest Minnesota to speak up for Minnesota Highway 23. The Minnesota Department of Transportation is seeking recommendations for road and bridge projects that will could be funded in 2015 by Corridors of Commerce funding.
There still remain two gaps, both about 7 miles long, of two-lane Highway 23 between Willmar and Interstate 94.
MnDOT is now accepting recommendations for Corridors of Commerce projects at this Web address: www.mndot.gov/corridors .
This is a time to call for more funding to “fill the gaps” on Highway 23.
An environmental study is currently being conducted by MnDOT on the Highway 23 gaps and is expected to be completed later this year. MnDOT’s District 8 has funded a $1.5 million study to evaluate the social and environmental effects on the human and natural environment of these projects. This is a positive step.
When this study is completed, the New London-Paynesville gap project - estimated to cost about $50 million to $70 million - and the Paynesville-Richmond gap project - estimated to cost about $70 million to
$90 million - will be ready for the next step toward filling these gaps in the coming decade.
As Rep. Collin Peterson, D-Minn., said recently, there needs to be a renewed focus on completing these Highway 23 gaps.
Highway 23 remains a major transportation artery for west central and southwest Minnesota. A recent MnDOT District 8 study “Manufacturer’s Perspectives on Transportation” identified 75 manufacturers and carriers in west central and southwest Minnesota, who consider Highway 23 an important transportation corridor. Many said Highway 23 is critical in helping reach national and international markets.
Highway 23 is also classified as an Interregional Corridor and is considered a critical freight route for west central and southwest Minnesota.
Now is the time for everyone in west central Minnesota to step up for Highway 23. Our citizens, business leaders and employees should go to this web address - www.mndot.gov/corridors - and recommend funding for “filling the gaps” on Highway 23.
If either project can receive some funding in 2015, it would be just one more step toward the important goal of completing a four-lane route from south of Willmar to Interstate 94, near St. Cloud.
More than 60 years after it was created, closing the Highway 23 gaps would finally connect Willmar to the Interstate System.